Knives, Gangs and Exams
by Paine jnr
Summary: Teens Robin and Much return to their school in Nottingham to find that things aren't exactly how they left them as innocent twelve-year-olds. Something sinister is stirring in the streets...
1. Reunion

**Greetings!  
****This is my first fic for the fantastic programme Robin Hood!**

**(So be nice. Reviews are a good start.)**

**And I intend to finish it! Unlike those FFX-2 ones that I lost muse for so very quickly. So I thought I'd start off with one of your typical high school fics…or so it seems.  
****I bring with me a whole new spelling of Djaq's real name.  
****Enjoy!**

* * *

_I hear the wind call my name  
The sound that leads me home again  
It sparks up the fire, a flame that still burns  
To you, I will always return_

"You're joking!" The teen with short, reddish-brown hair burst into a stunned grin.

"I'm not!" His companion insisted, his actions very exaggerated and almost too serious. "He'll be here any moment."

The taller teen laughed and shook his head. "Show me, Much."

Much handed him a phone. The other teen looked at the text on the screen, and laughed. "It's enough with you coming back, and all…this is great!" he certainly seemed pleased.

"Hasn't he called you?" The tall, dark-haired boy standing next to Much asked. His voice was deep, soft and quiet but it held a quality that allowed it to be heard.

"No, has he called you?" The other teen demanded.

"Yeah. Twice."

The other teen swore and shook his head. "He's gone and forgotten me, hasn't he?"

"Allan?"

The trio of boys turned around and their faces broke into immediate grins. Another boy, with a cheeky grin and a glint in his eye, was walking towards them. "Robin Hood!" Allan shook his head in disbelief and walked forward. The two greeted each other with a hearty hug.

"No one's called me that for years!" Robin laughed. "God, that was in Year Seven…and Will…_Captain Scarlett!_" he sang, with a reminiscent smile. "Good times. Good times."

"What brings you back to this dump then?" Allan grinned.

Robin grimaced. "I'm not being funny mate-"

"Very funny." Allan smirked. People had been imitating his catch phrase for years; he was used to it, but still reprimanded people in jest.

Robin snorted, then continued. "-But that place redefined the meaning of the word 'dump'."

Much nodded eagerly in agreement.

"I've heard it's bad. Youth crime and all that?" Will asked. Robin nodded. "My cousin's friend was stabbed there." Will continued. The rest of the gang gave him shocked looks. Will shrugged. "A couple of years ago. He survived."

A calm moment of silence passed. "I swear I used to be taller than you, Will." Robin commented, referring to the size his lanky friend had grown too. Will grinned sheepishly. "Where's Roy?" Robin asked.

"He's inside." Much said, gesturing at the building they were standing next to. A large neon sign shone out the words 'Dance & Drumkits'. It had always been a strange club; but the teens loved it. "He works here part time now."

"It's a weird name for a club." Robin commented.

"Vaysey says his Dad's stuck in the past." Allan said. "It's his Dad who owns it."

Robin looked shocked. "Seriously?" Allan nodded in reply. Then Robin looked aghast. "His little sidekick Guy isn't still at school, is he?"

The others looked at each other, grimaced, then nodded reluctantly. "He's still as greasy and emo as he always was." Much said.

"When did _you_ see him?"

"He was waiting at the bus stop outside my house once." Much shrugged.

"Is Katen playing tonight?" Will asked nobody in particular.

"Katen?" Robin's brow creased in the effort of trying to remember. "You mean Katen Janssen? The half-Dutch one?"

"My cousin." Will said.

"I'm not being funny mate, but you have a lot of cousins." Allan told his friend. Will shrugged. Allan thought for a moment, then asked, incredulously; "How did you get a half-Dutch cousin anyway?" Again, Will simply shrugged. Allan turned to Robin with an amused gleam in his eye. "Anyway, you won't recognise her."

"Has she grown a lot?" Robin asked.

Allan and Will shared knowing glances.

"Any new kids?" Robin dismissed the mystery of Katen in favour of other things.

"Oh, a couple. Vaysey's sister Davina moved here from Sir Greg's…and that girl, Sarah. Then there's Zebbie…isn't there a new girl coming this term? From the Middle East or something?" Allan asked Will.

"Acre." Will corrected.

"Bad year to come here, isn't it? In the middle of our GCSE's?" Much remarked. "Poor girl will hardly understand a word."

Allan snorted.

"She's fluent." Will interrupted. Everyone else looked at Will for an explanation, but Robin simply laughed. Will looked at him with a confused, almost hurt expression and asked; "What's funny?"

"For the last two years the only conversations I've had with men have been about drugs and girls." Robin laughed. "Here…it's like a tea party."

"And what's wrong with a tea party?" Much stuck out his jaw in his characteristically upset way.

Robin shook his head and laughed some more. "Absolutely nothing." He grinned, looking at the floor, seeming content at last. Then he looked up. "Shall we go in?"

* * *

"That's not Katen." Robin said, looking with wide eyes at the stage.

Allan grinned at him. "That's Katen."

Robin looked at him with wide, bewildered eyes. "But…but she's _skinny_! And a Goth! And _pretty_!"

Will put his fingers to his lips and whistled sharply. A tall girl with ebony hair and lots of makeup looked at them, and grinned. She made her way over. Her straight, black hair reached below her shoulder blades and her black attire was certainly eye-catching. Her face was smooth and youthful, but shy. "Hi." Katen grinned timidly at everyone, tucking her loose hair behind her ear. Robin stared at her, then burst out laughing, just as he had done outside. Katen looked at him, bewildered, until she recognised him. Then her head whipped from Will then back to Robin with a joyous yet stunned look on her face. Much was simply staring, open-mouthed.

Robin calmed himself down and looked at Katen. "You may look like a totally different person but really, you haven't changed one bit!" he chuckled. See, Katen's dress may have been eye-catching and different but at heart, the Goth was quite shy, quiet and eager to please. He looked at Will. "Is she still an absolute maniac onstage?"

Will nodded, a fond grin on his face. Katen was a totally different person onstage. "You're on tonight, aren't you?" Allan asked her. When Katen nodded, he asked what she was singing.

"More covers." Katen shrugged. "Missing by Evanescence, U + Ur Hand by Pink, Leave Me Alone by Hanna Pakarinen. I've got a big slot tonight, so I might sneak in another song. Any suggestions?"

"You obviously still play music, then." Robin pointed out.

Katen nodded, but Will intervened. "She's amazing." Will smiled. Katen smiled modestly and looked down at the ground.

"Play something that'll shock Robin." Allan suggested. "What's that song...um..." He started to vaguely hum a tune. Katen recognised it, hummed along, and Allan nodded.

"Angels, by Within Temptation."

"That's a good one. Do that one." Allan ordered.

"It will be done." Katen grinned, with a small, mock salute. "I think the guys know that one…" she turned and walked off towards the band.

"Who're your backing singers?" Allan called after her.

"Alice and Marian!" Katen shouted back.

There was a pause. "Marian?" Robin asked, a delighted smile spreading across his face.

"Don't get too excited, mate. She's not a happy bunny." Allan frowned.

"Because of the Internet thing?" Robin asked. At his previous house, the Internet had been faulty for a long time before eventually crashing. Marian had never been told that the Internet was faulty and when it finally went offline for three months, she almost thought he had given up on them before she found out about the Internet problem. It was a small thing, but with Marian, she wanted to be kept up-to-date on things and not telling her was a vital mistake. Since then she had been quite distant. Of course, Robin knew of other reasons why she was so distant, but that was the incident everyone else knew about.

"Yeah."

Robin sighed. Before he could continue, a cheer went up from the crowd as three women walked onstage. One was Katen, and one Robin recognised as Alice, the sixth former who had been going out with a man called John Little before Robin left. "What happened with her and John?" Robin asked.

"Nothing, they're still together." Will replied. Robin raised his eyebrows, only half surprised. The couple were good together, at ease around each other but not too argumentative.

However, it was the third one that caught Robin's eye. A pretty brunette, with beautifully shaped eyebrows, curled hair and prominent cheekbones had taken a microphone and was standing next to Alice. The two were talking with Katen, and an excited, nervous smile decorated the girl's beautiful face. She looked almost like Robin had remembered her; but she was more grown up, more mature in her looks. She certainly wasn't an innocent little girl anymore.

"Marian." Robin breathed, a silly smile coming to his face.

Katen strode to the front of the stage, a striking contrast to the shy girl of earlier. "Evening Drumsticks!" she shouted.

"Evening Biker Boots!" chorused the audience, though a rough Northern accent could be heard loudly proclaiming, "Evenin' Goth Gel!"

Robin looked at Allan. Allan shrugged. "We've been doing that for ages."

Katen looked at a rough-looking, blond man who was sitting next to an amp, dressed in black trousers and a 'Dance & Drumsticks' polo shirt. "He's never going to catch on." Katen told the audience, who laughed. However, Katen's smile had weakened a bit.

"Roy doesn't like Katen being a Goth." Will explained.

"But they used to be so close!" Robin replied.

"He doesn't like change much." Allan said.

"We've got some great songs for you tonight." Katen grinned. "We'll start off with…I think I did it a few weeks ago?" she looked to Marian and Alice for confirmation. "But firstly, we've got a few announcements." Katen grinned cruelly around the room. "Little do you know that there have been some new arrivals around here! Old friends, new friends, they're all here tonight - so you have to be nice. And that includes you, Allan."

Allan laughed out loud.

"You'll be walking around the room and suddenly bump into an old acquaintace, like dear old Much at the back!"

Much grinned at having the attention, and waved vigorously. A couple of people waved back, then turned to chatter excitedly with their friends.

"Anyway, here goes! This is Missing by Evanescence!" A couple of Katen's friends at the front cheered uproariously, and the rest of the crowd laughed with them. It was certainly a friendly club.

"Is that _Mira_ on drums?" Much asked, incredulously, looking at the raven-haired girl on the drum machine.

"Yeah. She turned out to be quite a nifty little drummer." Allan said, with an envious tone.

Roy took his place with some electrical hardware and began his work almost as soon as Marian and Alice started singing. Looping was a big method in this song, and Katen whispered inaudibly over the top of the staccato notes. Then she sang.

_Please, please forgive me,  
But I won't be home again.  
Maybe someday you'll look up,  
And, barely conscious, you'll say to no one:  
"Isn't something missing?"_

Robin and Much stared, amazed; the warbling Year Seven had turned into a perfect vocalist!

_You won't cry for my absence, I know -  
You forgot me long ago.  
Am I that unimportant?  
Am I so insignificant?  
Isn't something missing?  
Isn't someone missing me?  
_

It wasn't just the notes; it was the heart-wrenching way she sang, the expression in her face, the emotion she put into every syllable. Katen was a performer, at home on the stage. And the crowd loved it.

But of course, it was the backing singer who had Robin's eye. A calmer version of the vocalist in front, her voice had developed into a young woman's and Robin knew for a fact that Katen must have helped Marian – and Alice, for that fact. The three girls had been good friends.

_Even though I'm the sacrifice,  
You won't try for me, not now.  
Though I'd die to know you love me,  
I'm all alone.  
Isn't someone missing me?  
_

The harmonies and backings fit perfectly together and there was an interlude before Katen came back. Some people in the audience were even singing along.

_Please, please forgive me,  
But I won't be home again.  
I know what you do to yourself.  
I breathe deep and cry out;  
"Isn't something missing?  
Isn't someone missing me?"_

_Even though I'm the sacrifice,  
You won't try for me, not now.  
Though I'd die to know you love me,  
I'm all alone.  
Isn't someone missing me?_

All of a sudden, Marian saw him and for a brief second, her eyes widened and she faltered, but then she stubbornly looked away and kept on singing. Alice – strangely – took her hand.

_And if I bleed, I'll bleed,  
Knowing you don't care.  
And if I sleep just to dream of you  
I'll wake without you there,  
Isn't something missing?  
Isn't something…  
_

Marian finally looked back at him, and Robin understood. Those last lyrics had been for him. But why? Had he said something? Had he made it seem as if he was brushing her away? He was confused, and he didn't like it. He also realised he didn't like being sung too - it was cheesey. Though it did hurt - just a little.

Katen sang alone, with the strings backing her mournfully.

_Even though I'm the sacrifice,  
You won't try for me, not now.  
Though I'd die to know you love me,  
I'm all alone.  
Isn't something missing?  
Isn't someone missing me…?_

They died out again to the staccato vocals and the whispering, and Katen bowed her head in acknowledgement of the song in the way Robin remembered she used to. The crowd burst into applause. Katen grinned and held up a hand for silence. "Enough of that." Katen exclaimed. "Who's for some dancing?"

The whole crowd cheered riotously. Allan grinned. "When Katen does a pacey song, everyone gets involved."

Robin grinned. He liked how things had turned out in Nottingham.

* * *

**Don't worry, gang. We get to school next chapter.**


	2. Nothing Changes

**Thank you for all the lovely reviews!  
****They were very encouraging.  
****With thanks to xxCCxx (Chanel), paula545, Robin-Marian-Fan, Mira-and-Allen and ZebraBlonde!  
****Special thanks to ZebraBlonde, paula545, Mira-and-Allen and my friend Lauren for contributing the characters Zara/Zebbie, Charlie, Mira and Mickey respectively.  
****I'm going to do a pairings warning though; Robin/Marian, Will/Djaq, and the rest is Character/OC if they have a love interest.  
****And a note on English schools; in Year Eleven it's 15/16-year-olds, Year Eight is 12/13-year-olds and Sixth Form consists of Years Twelve & Thirteen.**

**Off to school we go!**

* * *

_Leave me alone, I wanna go home  
The day will still come when I see you crying  
'Cause you will get yours, just leave me alone  
_

The school uniform was dull and boring, but thankfully comfortable. It consisted of black trousers (skirts and shorts were optional in summer), a white polo shirt with the school logo, a dark red jumper with the school logo and black shoes. It wasn't too bad, and although the school tried to make the students stick to the uniform code, most girls definitely wore an overdose of makeup and the teachers generally ignored accessories. Basically, as long as you weren't too outrageous, you could get away with flouting the uniform rules. You could wear whatever scarf or coat you wanted – as long as it wasn't too over-the-top – and although hoodies were banned, they were common.

Standing at the door, Will's uniform really was just the basics. The only accessories he wore were two leather bands on his right arm and a watch; gifts from his family that he treasured. One leather band was woven, and one was plain but with his name engraved. It may have been September but the summers had begun to drag on and so there was no need for a coat or jumper.

The door opened to a quite plump man. His face lit up. "Ah, William. You're here early."

"Sorry, Bassam." Will replied. "I'll wait."

"No, no. Please, come in! Safia should be ready soon." Bassam ushered Will into the hallway, where Will stood, feeling slightly awkward. Bassam disappeared, shouting, "_Safia! _William's here!"

Will winced. He didn't want his friend to hurry. After all, it was her first day of school; he had no doubt that she would be prompt, but he knew that girls liked to make a good first impression – and that usually involved lots of makeup. But to his surprise, the short girl appeared with little eyeliner and certainly no foundation. Will grinned. He always thought girls looked best with the minimum of makeup, and he hated it when girls splashed it on.

"Ready, Safia?" he asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Safia pretended to grimace but her exotic accent was full of nerves that betrayed her true emotions.

"You'll be fine." Bassam assured her, overhearing the exchange. "William will look after you, won't you, William?"

"I don't think she'll need me for long." Will replied, trying to satisfy Bassam that Safia would make friends quickly.

After saying their goodbyes, Will and Safia left the house. After a little while walking in silence, Safia said; "I tell you what, Will. It makes a change going to school in trousers."

"What did you wear in Acre?" Will asked, then it dawned on him. "Ah…" Safia would most likely have worn traditional Arabic dress, though Will didn't know the name of the clothing.

"Is my hair ok?" Safia asked, touching her short, straight, almost-black hair.

"It's fine."

"I don't look too nerdy, too new-girly?"

"Nope."

"I'm not sure about these shoes…"

"Djaq!" Will interrupted, a smile coming to his face. "You're absolutely fine." Safia – or 'Djaq' – didn't usually fret about things, but it was rather funny when she did.

"What're you smiling about?"

"Nothing." Will grinned, shaking his head and walking on.

* * *

"Hey gang!" Robin called, as he and Much approached the group of students containing others that he actually recognised. He had seen a few people around the school who he could just about put a name to face, but everyone had changed so much.

"Hello all!" Much shouted, trying to bring some attention to himself as well.

"Hey, Robin! Much!" Allan shouted, calling the duo over to his part of the group. He was standing with Roy, three girls and a young boy; the boy and one of the girls were definitely younger, but the other two girls must have been about their age. "This is Zebbie, this is Zebbie's sister, Charlie, this is Sophie, and that _thing_ is my brother, Tom. And you might remember Mira."

"I remember you." Robin smiled, looking at Tom. Tom was glaring at Allan. Robin looked at the girls. "Hi."

"Everyone's been talking about you." Zebbie, a short girl with light brown hair, told Robin, smiling. "We all came here after you left."

Robin nodded at them. "What forms are you in?"

"We're in KL, but Charlie's in Tom's year." Mira, a girl with short, black, curly hair, explained.

"I'm in NB." Charlie clarified. Charlie was pretty much the same height as her sister, despite the age gap.

"Luke!" Tom shouted, leaving the group to join another boy whom was quite tall for a Year Eight and seemed quite mature.

Robin looked questioningly at Allan. "Luke Scarlett?"

"Mm."

"He still looks nothing like Will." Robin shook his head in disbelief.

"I know. And he grew up quicker than Will did." Roy admitted. "Oi! Luke! Where's Will?" Roy called.

"He waited for Djaq!"

"Djaq?"

"The new girl!"

"What, does she live next door or something?"

"You guessed it, mate!"

"Well, that would explain why he knew her." Zebbie said, raising her eyebrows at Mira.

"That's them now." Much said, nudging Robin in the ribs and pointing. Their tall friend was walking next to an Asian girl that they didn't recognise. She was quite short, just a little taller than Will's shoulder. She had short, almost black hair and was rather pretty, though the school uniform never really worked well on any girl's figure.

Allan seemed to disagree. "Cor, Will's really scored for once."

The sentence earned him a dig in the ribs from Zebbie. Ignoring Allan's cries of pain, Roy called them over.

As he reached the group, Will held out a hand, gesturing towards the new girl. "Guys, this is Djaq."

"Hi there." Djaq said, smiling. You couldn't call her manner reserved, but then neither was she overly outgoing.

"Will tells us you've come from Acre." Robin commented, not wanting to let the conversation drop as it so often did with new students.

Djaq nodded. "I came about four weeks ago."

"I went there once."

"Really?" Djaq's eyes widened. "Not many people I've met here have been."

"I've been there too. My mum loved all the Eastern clothing." Much volunteered, not wanting to be left out.

Djaq grinned. "Yes. I guess they find Arabic clothing as interesting as I find Western clothing."

"Oh, I _love_ Arabic clothing." Katen sidled into the conversation. Her makeup wasn't as embellished as the night before, but she was in danger of being sent by a teacher to get it washed off.

Roy was quick to excuse himself from the conversation. "Hey, Mickey!" he shouted, then walked off to join a group of sixth-formers. Katen sighed.

"He'll get over it, love." Allan reassured her. "He just needs some time."

"Yeah, like the two years he's already had?" Katen raised an eyebrow at Allan. It was a rare moment of spunk. She looked at Djaq. "Hi, I'm Katen. I'm Will's cousin. He's told me a lot about you. I hope I get to see a lot more of you, you sound very interesting!"

Will blushed. If anything could help Djaq settle in, it was Katen's nervous friendliness, but she needn't have mentioned how Will had talked about her a lot.

"I'm sure Will's been exaggerating. There's nothing much in me except science and martial arts." Djaq insisted, modestly

Katen's eyes brightened. "You do martial arts?"

As the two girls walked away, falling into their own conversation, Robin turned to Will. "I think they've clicked."

"That's saying something, talking about Katen. She usually frightens people off." Roy had returned as Katen left and had placed himself with his back to Katen.

"Roy, leave it…" Allan groaned as Katen's head turned slightly to the side. She had obviously overheard. Thankfully, Katen was saved listening to any more insults by the bell. Will went back to Djaq and the gang went their separate ways to their form rooms.

* * *

"Oh, thank _God._ We don't have double business studies anymore!" Mira breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, but we start with English…" Zebbie moaned. Last year, she'd had to sit next to a girl she really didn't get along with.

"Ugh, you didn't have to work with _Greg…_"

"Point taken."

"Alright, class!" called the teacher. "Come in and stand along the back. We have a new seating plan."

"Yeah, because there's so many new people…" Sophie, a little taller than Zebbie with shoulder-length brown hair, commented. "Maybe you won't have to sit next to Greg?"

The class filed along the back of the classroom as the teacher called out the names, pointing to desks. "Katen…Joe Potts…" a short, skinny boy looked, unimpressed, at his new partner. "Robin Locksley…Mira…Much Bonchurch…Sophie Davies…"

"Lucky you." Zebbie said. Mira raised her eyebrows; she didn't know whether she'd get on with the two new boys. She headed to her seat with Sophie.

"Carter Murray…Zara …"

Zebbie sat down next to a handsome blond she didn't recognise. He grinned at her. "Hi, I'm Carter."

"I'm Zebbie."

"Why do they call you Zara?" Carter asked, confused.

"Zara's my first name, but people call be Zebbie." Zebbie explained, waving it off. She'd had to explain it so many times, but she didn't loathe the task.

Over at Mira's table, Much was striking up a conversation. "When did you start playing drums?" he asked.

"Oh, when I was ten."

"I never knew." Much looked affronted.

Mira laughed a little. "You don't exactly go tell the whole world."

"Yeah, well Much would." Robin remarked.

"Thanks." Much said, sarcastically.

"How long have you been back?" Sophie asked the duo.

"I came back two weeks ago, Robin's been here a few days." Much replied.

"A few _days?_" Mira repeated. "And you're back on the first day? Shouldn't you have taken a few days to settle in or something?"

"Couldn't desert my gang any longer." Robin smiled, almost pompously.

* * *

"So how was your first morning back?" Allan asked, patting Robin on the back. "Not too godawful?"

"It wasn't too bad. But English and Drama aren't bad lessons."

"Yeah, not when you've got Katen and Roy in the same class…" Allan muttered.

"I heard that, Allan." Roy's voice invaded their conversation.

Allan winced. "Damn…Will!" Allan ran off and brought Will and Djaq over to where Robin and some of the rest of the gang were sitting. "Haha, you should have been in German."

"What happened?"

"Frau Green overheard Allan making sexual innuendoes in German." Will explained.

"Even better, she overheard Will saying-"

"-something rather embarrassing." Will concluded, clapping his hand over Allan's mouth.

"Do tell." Sophie smirked.

"Well, let's just say," Allan replied, breaking free from Will's hold, "I was teaching Will the _language of love._"

A tall, dark-haired boy walked up to the group and looked at Katen and Marian. "Morning, Marian. Goth Girl." The boy said.

"Emo Kid." Katen grinned at him. Neither the boy nor Katen seemed offended by the name-calling.

"Guy." Marian simply replied.

"Guy Gisborne!" Robin realised, walking up to the other boy. The boy's hair was straight and slightly greasy, and he wore a surprising amount of eyeliner. He had a strong jawline and a mature face with an unimpressed expression.

"Robin Locksley – or Robin Hood, that's what they used to call you. I heard you'd returned." Guy replied. The two boys stood about four feet away from each other, arms crossed, smirking. They almost seemed to be sizing each other up. "You haven't lost your dramatic…touch."

"Yes, I was rather surprised to see you in Drama." Robin replied, faking interest. "I suppose they need you for the dark, depressing scenes?"

"No, they have Katen for that…" Roy muttered.

"Inappropriate!" Much hissed back.

"Well, we weren't exactly missing your impudence. It didn't take you long to find your old…_gang_." Guy replied with a smirk, looking around at the gathered teens.

"Well, I guess they needed a fellow man who doesn't use makeup."

"Well, I'd watch who you consider your 'gang'. There's a whole new meaning to the word nowadays." Guy's tone almost had a tint of mystery – he was hiding something.

"God, you're not playing kiddie warfare or something like that, are you?" Robin groaned. The others laughed; a smile tugged at even Marian's mouth.

"You'll see." Guy found it satisfying to withhold information that he knew Robin would secretly love to have. "Marian. Katen. A word." Guy said, almost demanding. Marian and Katen raised their eyebrows at Guy. He rolled his eyes. "Please can I speak to you?" Guy corrected himself. The girls grinned at him, nodded their heads, and walked off with him.

Robin looked at the others, confused. "Since when has Guy been all matey-matey with Marian?" he demanded.

The others shrugged. "Relationships change, Robin." Roy said. "If she wants to be friends with Guy, well, that's just the way the world works."

Will, however, seemed to understand Robin's bafflement. "It's mainly Katen's influence." Will told him. "Katen doesn't seem to mind him – he clings to her because she doesn't insult the way he looks. He then met Marian and they became friends." Will shrugged. "They're just friends, Robin."

Robin wasn't happy. "I didn't like the way he was looking at her." He fretted.

"Just leave it, Robin." Allan advised. "It's not like they're a future couple or anything."

Zebbie and Mira raised their eyebrows at each other. Robin didn't like their grimaces, either. "Zebbie? Mira?" he demanded.

"Well…we do reckon Guy likes her…" Zebbie said, awkwardly. "But we don't know about Marian!" she quickly added, as Robin groaned and turned away, his hands to his head in despair.

"Only Katen would find _him_ attractive…" Roy murmured.

"Will you _stop_ that?" Will turned to Roy, looking affronted on behalf of his cousin.

"For the record," Katen stated; she had returned, unnoticed, to the group. "I find Guy rather ugly."

"Oh, so what _do_ you find attractive?" Roy stood up, raising his eyebrow. "Gingers?"

"Oi!" shouted Allan. "I was a ginger when I was little!"

"If anything, I quite like blondes." Katen replied, an almost challenging look on her face.

"Oh!" Roy cried, raising his hands. "So I'm on your hit list now, am I?"

"Roy, you're ugly," Katen declared, "And there's another good reason why only sluts will ever-"

"_Don't you start_!" Roy hissed, his smirk turning into a scowl.

"Oh, don't _I_ start?" Katen replied. She seemed to be putting up a good front, but you could see she was struggling with the argument. If Robin and Much remembered correctly, Katen loathed arguing with a passion. "I _never _start. It's always you and your stupid hate of me!"

"Kat…" Will stood up, took his cousin's hand, and led her away.

Roy glowered at their backs. "Morons…" he muttered.

"Hey!" Djaq protested.

"You should agree with me! You know the family quite well, it seems." Roy retorted.

"I find them to be very courteous and welcoming." Djaq responded.

"ROAR!" shouted a tall, handsome sixth former, coming at Roy from behind and jumping up on Roy's shoulders. Roy was a little surprised, but didn't show anything past that.

"God Mickey, you could kill a guy…" Roy laughed. The awkwardness of the moments before had been completely obliterated.

"That's the plan!" Mickey laughed. He whispered something in Roy's ear, then was off again as quickly as he had come.

"That guy scares me." Much remarked, watching as Mickey jumped on his best friend, John Little.

"He's a great guy!" Roy replied. "He's just…random."

"I'll say!" Sophie giggled.

"You just have to get used to him…eh, Lukey!" Roy shouted, calling Will's little brother over. As Roy whispered something into Luke's ear, Will re-appeared with Katen. Katen's makeup was slightly blurred and her eyes were red, as if she'd been crying. Zebbie took her to the toilets to clear her up, and Marian followed them as she re-appeared.

As Luke walked away, Will faced Roy. "I don't want him involved, Roy."

"What's wrong with it?"

"He's _thirteen_."

"There are younger kids involved." Roy laughed at Will's protectiveness.

"Yeah, but they've been dragged into it by older brothers. Roy, just tell him to leave it." Will beseeched Roy.

"Honestly, Will. What are you, his mother?" Roy shook his head and went to sit down next to Allan, but Allan pushed him off.

"Apologise." Allan said, glaring at Roy.

"Can't you take a joke?"

"That was a cheap shot, and you know it." Mira said, standing next to Allan. "Apologise."

Roy glared at them both, staring them down. He lost, and growled his frustration. "Can't take a joke…" he muttered, walking off in the direction of Mickey.

Djaq went to Will, and touched his arm, comfortingly. "Will?" she asked, looking at his face, trying to make him take his eyes off the floor and look at her.

"I'll be fine." Will said, walking into the main building to wait for Katen's group.

An awkward silence fell.

"What did you get in your English mock?" Allan asked Robin. "They did sent them here, didn't they?"

Robin nodded. "C. Mira and Zebbie got A's, the lucky…things."

Mira grinned sweetly at them.

"I got an A." Much bragged.

"Well done, Much." Mira said, rolling her eyes. It was possibly the tenth time she had said it that day.

"I'll do better this time." Robin said. "That school was absolute crap."

"What did Katen get?" Allan asked.

"A. Why'd you ask?" Robin replied.

"I thought she could use a bit of cheering up." Allan shrugged. "I'll congratulate her."

"You don't _like_ her, do you?" Much asked, sniggering.

"No, mate. My eyes are firmly elsewhere." Allan replied, with a grin and a mysterious tone.

"Tell us…"

Allan tapped his nose, cheekily.

"Ask her what she's wearing to the Halloween Disco. That'll cheer her up." Much suggested.

"How did you know that?" Robin inquired.

Much shrugged. "It was a guess."

Will and the others reappeared just as the bell rang for third period. Robin watched almost sadly as Marian walked with Will to Art. She couldn't ignore him forever, but by God she was giving it a good go. The duo seemed deep in conversation; but that wasn't surprising, considering the first-day drama. Then a second girl came into his sight.

_Sarah_.

Robin's eyes widened. She was probably the root of all his problems with Marian, though nobody else knew why. All he knew was he definitely wanted to stay away from her and that having Marian and Sarah in the same class was a recipe for disaster.

"Good luck, Will…" he muttered, glad it wasn't him. "You're going to need it."


	3. Something Stirring

**Thank you to Mira-And-Allan, lady clark of books, Soapy-Liedown, jinxywinxy, paula545 and ZebraBlonde for the reviews!  
****Also thanks to SoapyDreams for the character Sophie.**

**Good news, everyone.  
****We're going to really start delving into the plot now…  
****And you thought this was just an ordinary, soap opera-style fic!  
****You were wrong…**

**Also, I am so, so sorry for the wait. I had a very busy life and my muse vanished on me.**

* * *

_Only the strongest will survive  
Lead me to heaven when we die  
I have a shadow on the wall  
I'll be the one to save us all_

The man who stood in the centre of the circle was only twenty-three, but he was one of those who aged much quicker than most. He had a bald patch, he stooped slightly, had dark hair with a grey streak he'd had for most of his life and was rather portly and short. Despite all this, he had an authority in the way he moved and arrogance in his eyes that demanded control over those who sat in the semicircle.

"My friends!" he whispered. His voice echoed around the dimly lit basement with a harsh, mocking, over-friendly tone. "My friends." He grinned at them with what they could tell was a forced smile. "My lovely little select group." His voice echoed almost as if there was silence, but booming music could be heard through the roof amongst the sounds of glass and excited screaming. "We are gathered as a brotherhood, a family. We are the strongest of Nottingham, the strongest of our gang; we are the most cunning, the strongest, the bravest. And we are gathered as an alliance." As he talked, he paced around the room. The men sitting around him, all wearing hoodies to hide their identity, watched him with respect in their eyes. "But there are those out there who would seek to bring us down! To take us off our stand!"

"There is a threat?" a deep, resounding voice asked.

"Oh indeed, there is a threat!" the man in the centre replied. "A new group has arisen – they call themselves _the Crusaders._ A little outdated, you will agree."

Murmurs of accord were uttered around the room.

"We don't know their leader, though we do have some idea of some possible members. We do not _believe_ that they should be a risk to the Black Knights, but the very fact that they are _challenging _us – how dare they!"

"What must we do?" asked a soft yet resolute voice.

The man grinned. "Some of you will disagree with this and some will think it childish. But we shall assume – as it were – _codenames,_ to hide our identity outside of the gang. And then, at night, when we are Black Knights, we shall slowly crush them. You must all keep an eye out for any suspicious occurrences." The man walked to the front and surveyed his gang. "I shall be known as _the Sheriff._" He paced around the room, giving everyone their new name. As he came to the teen who had asked about the threat before, he said; "You shall be known as…Geegee."

"Geegee." The teen repeated, not happy.

"It is your initials, is it not? GG? Therefore you will be known as Geegee."

"Thanks a lot."

"You…" the Sheriff turned around and crossed the semicircle to where two girls sat. Loose blonde hair cascaded out of both hoods. You could only see their mouths, curled into proud smirks, waiting for their nicknames.

"The Snake and the Artist." The Sheriff proudly announced.

The girls high-fived each other, obviously pleased.

The Sheriff continued his rounds in the circle, handing out nicknames. Only one other teen, a boy sitting next to 'Geegee', had a problem with his nickname. The rest all seemed pretty happy. "I feel we've earned a certain air of professionalism tonight, my friends." The Sheriff said, sneering at them all. He walked slowly to stand behind the chair of Geegee and, with his hands on Geegee's shoulders, shouted, "Roll call!"

"Geegee…" Geegee muttered, darkly.

"Blondie." Geegee's neighbour murmured in the same tone as Geegee.

"The Prima Donna."

"The Stud."

"The Foreigner."

"The Rider."

"The Prince."

"The Wrestler."

"The Snake."

"The Artist."

"The Sailor."

"The Deck."

"And the Sheriff!" the Sheriff spread his arms wide, as if to embrace the group. The Sheriff paused, with his gang waiting in a patient and courteous silence; then he relaxed and began to pace slowly around the circle again. "Now…to the _'game plan'…_" a mischievous grin came upon his face as he looked around the group. As he came to 'the Prima Donna', he paused. "First and foremost, we might want to keep an eye on that _darling_ sister of yours."

The Prima Donna sighed. "What's she been up to?"

"Well, not much, but she's been hanging around that Northerner and we all have our suspicions about _him…_"

"I'll watch her."

"Good. And all the rest of you at Pat's – how many are there, four? – you need to be alert. That Goth is stubbornly refusing to get involved and we don't know whether the others are being influenced."

Several gang members nodded their heads.

"Sister." The Sheriff turned on his heel and strode towards where the two girls sat. "Now, we've all heard about how Robin Locksley has come back to school…"

The two girls looked at each other and smirked. They obviously had little plans of their own.

"I don't really care what you do with _him_, I'm not going to say anything about it. But you need to keep an eye on the girls of the gang – especially that Knighton girl, but I have no doubt you're doing that already, from what I've heard…"

The two girls sniggered.

"…But they used to be rather close."

One of the girls frowned. "They'll never be so close again."

"Yes, that was a cunning trick you pulled, Artist." The Sheriff said. "Keep him occupied with trying to win back his woman, not elsewhere."

The girl's face returned to a sneer.

"Prince, Deck, Sailor and Wrestler…" the Sheriff said, pointing at numerous people throughout the circle. "You'll be on family watch and –as they do in the army - intelligence. As soon as we get names, I want info, where they live, family members, skills, what they do, etc."

The four seemed pleased with their posts.

"Geegee, Blondie, stay behind after everyone's gone." The Sheriff ordered. "Otherwise, unless there are any questions…you may go."

The Foreigner raised his hand, and asked in a voice thick with accent, "What about everyone at D&D? How many people there know about this?"

The Sheriff nodded his head. "For once, a good question. No. Nobody there knows about this. Of course, they're free to form their suspicions, but as long as they show no sign of grassing…"

Everyone nodded his or her head in approval. No more questions were raised and everyone was free to go – that is, with the exception of Geegee and Blondie.

"Ah, Blondie." The Sheriff grinned, if slightly sadistically, "You've proved your loyalty on more than one occasion since your arrival here. But now, for full inclusion in the gang, I want you to prove yourself with one final task before we can truly call you a Black Knight."

Blondie nodded his head, understandingly or maybe just patiently. "I won't fail."

The Sheriff began to explain.

* * *

A few streets and parks away, it was a totally different scene.

The Crusaders weren't hiding in a basement and they certainly weren't sat around in a circle, showing total obedience to their leader. In fact, it was true to say that not all the Crusaders were actually there. Some of their number had gone to "Dance & Drumsticks" to keep an eye out for any suspicious goings-on. They knew that the Black Knights operated around there a lot, but they didn't have any more clues than that.

Still, they were optimistic. Their numbers were steadily growing, with several young boys wanting to take up positions. It was a very informal meeting, in fact, they weren't there on much Crusader business – they had even been joined by friends who weren't Crusaders, shown by the early appearance of John Little and Alice Paisley. Both of them strongly disagreed with gangs, but weren't prepared to sacrifice their friendship with their friends in the group. After all, it was just a silly little game, something that would die away. Wasn't it?

It wasn't particularly late in the evening and it was no surprise to see three of the members of the Heron Stables out on an evening ride. The area that everyone lived in was reasonably close to the outskirts, hence the increase in numbers of parks and room for stables. Every now and then, the stables would go on a long hack out of the city. But on a day to day basis they took their normal routes around the roads and paths of Nottingham and often came across friends.

"FREYA!" shouted a sixth former, almost running up to the horses but then halting as he came close, remembering that one of Freya's horses was rather skittish. He was the same sixth former who had jumped Roy on the first day back at school.

"Don't worry, Mickey." Freya grinned, halting her mare. "Tiger wouldn't spook if a herd of bulls charged at her."

"No, Tiger would rush headlong!" laughed the second rider in the line, softly pulling her dapple-grey pony to a stop. He tossed his head slightly and stepped back, but eventually settled. Bringing up the rear was Katen on a tall black and white mare that pranced on the spot and champed at the bit.

"You're not hacking out with your darling sister?" Mickey teased, holding out a hand for Tiger to sniff. The bay mare sniffed his hand, and left her head there which cued Mickey to start scratching around the mare's ears.

Freya rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. She'd rather hang around a street corner with Sarah and Davy, seducing the local drug dealers. If she's not back by the time we are, I'll have to lunge Rocha for her."

"I'll do it!" shouted the younger girl, eagerly.

"Don't worry, Rachel." Freya grinned. "You'll have enough trouble getting Springy in his stable."

"I need to talk to you tomorrow." Mickey said, his voice taking on a more serious tone. "Can you meet me in the drama studio at break?"

"Will do." Freya nodded. She didn't ask why; she knew.

"Freya…" Katen murmured, just loud enough to be heard, as a certain blond appeared down the path.

Mickey sensed Katen's dread and winked at her. "Don't worry. I'll distract him!" he smiled, then jogged down the path to meet Roy. He swung his arm around his shoulder and steered him towards the main group, away from the trio of riders.

"Hey, Rachel." Luke Scarlett and a friend had now approached the group and had started up a conversation with the youngest rider.

Freya swivelled in the saddle and furrowed her eyebrows, looking at Katen. In response, Katen only shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. Both were thinking the same thing, though – _they're not involved in the Crusaders yet, are they?_

"Hey, Kat." Luke said, stealing Katen's attention.

"Hi, Lukey. Hi, Tom." Katen nodded at her cousin and his friend. Tom Dale was a decent boy, though a bit of a troublemaker and not exactly the right crowd for Luke to be hanging around with. Still, Katen wasn't his mother and she didn't like to reprimand either of them.

"We can't interest you in supporting us then, Katen?"

Katen nearly jumped out of her saddle with fright. Mickey had appeared at her side just as suddenly as he always did. This time, however, a slight shorter young man with shaggy red hair and an unreadable expression accompanied him. His piercing green eyes were the types that seemed to look into your very soul but never gave anything away about the soul of the one they belonged to.

Katen smiled awkwardly. "Never."

"Shame." The redhead said.

"Yeah, I'm sure we would have converted Blondie in the end!" Mickey laughed.

Katen visibly tensed. Her anxiety didn't seem to be helping her horse's mood, either. Noticing this, Freya said her goodbyes and moved off, prompting Rachel and Katen to follow. Katen's horse almost burst forward into a trot, but Katen held the mare back expertly and soon lost all thoughts of the Crusaders whilst keeping her horse in check.

"Speaking of Blondie…" the redhead said, tapping Mickey on the shoulder. Mickey turned to see Roy approaching, with a strange face at his side. Mickey bounded up to them with his usual enthusiasm and slapped Roy solidly on the back. He grinned mischievously at the newcomer. "Roy's been telling me about you." Mickey said. "Says you have a lot of experience."

"London's not a peaceful place." The newcomer simply explained, shaking hands vigorously with Mickey.

"I'm Mickey Vancouver, this is Richard King." Mickey introduced himself and the redheaded boy. "We're pretty much in charge around here, but we like to think everyone has a say. Richard, this is Carter Murray."

Carter and Richard shook hands.

"We have quite a bit of intelligence." Mickey said. "We know that there's something going down at D&D, and we reckon Vaysey's involved. There's a few people at school that we want keeping an eye on, and we're often down at D&D making sure that nothing special is happening."

"You know what you're up to, then."

"Pretty much." Richard assured him.

"We're working on a few things – we're trying to get a couple of people at D&D to help us out, and there's been a few responses. Katen Janssen – she's in your year – is a regular performer there, but she's refusing point blank and we're beginning to give up. Perhaps you could try and persuade her, if you become good friends with her?"

"I'll try."

Roy sniggered.

"That's enough, Roy." Richard said, a warning tone to his voice. Roy's face instantly changed to a neutral stance, a level of control that surprised Carter.

"So there's no particular secrecy around this whole operation?" Carter asked.

"Not particularly. We make no secrets about what we know, unless we think it would really help us. But there are some things that stay with me and Richard."

Carter nodded in understanding.

"We hope to see you helping out soon." Richard said. His expression had not changed once from its look of mild suspicion, but Richard always treated newcomers with the same cold air.

"But anyway, welcome to the Crusaders. Serve well and be rewarded, but beware the consequences of foul play." Mickey said, his tone momentarily going serious.

"Oh, don't worry. You won't have any trouble from me."


End file.
